As long the fellowship was united ,Gandalf was the most important member.He was protecting them , guide them but most important , he kept them united. No need to mention what hapenned soon aftre Gundalf's "death".
But in general the most important guy was Sam. Without him Frodo would have never destroyd the ring.Probably Gollum would have taken from him as he would be exhausted and without any support or help.

But every member played his own role. Frodo , Sam , Aragorn and Gandalf were by far more important than the others. I see the rest of them as "fillers".

Yeah, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, Merry, and Pippin don't seem to have much affect. (not enough, at least)

I think that without any of these members, the quest would have failed. Importance is a bit vague, but all of these members are necessary.
Gandalf was definitely the wisest member, always knowing what to do.
Aragorn was the most powerful member, in battle (though an Aragorn-Gandalf fight would be interesting) , and by being the heir (Army of the Dead).
Frodo destroyed the Ring.
Sam saved Frodo (Cirith Ungol).

[This message has been edited by Ancalagon_4554 (edited 10-17-2006 @ 07:34 PM).]

I agree with Revan. Without Sam, Frodo would have been lost.

My views on the character roles

Gandalf

The oldest and wisest member, he was essential to the story because he was a recurring character, he knew about the ring and what to do with it. Without Gandalf, the fellowship would never have occurred. The ring would have either remained in the hands of Frodo, or found by the ringwraiths when thy captured Gollum.

Aragorn

I could say he's one of the most important characters. He is the sole heir of the dying kingdom of Gondor, and he is needed to bring it back to its former glory. His courage and leadership are what everyone sees in him.

Boromir

Boromir was used to solidify Frodo's determination to destroy the ring. Boromir was strong, but the ring took advantage of his desire to save his people and corrupted him. Had Boromir not been there, Frodo would have stayed with the rest of the fellowship and who knows what would have happened.

Gimli and Legolas

they fall under the same description for me...I have yet to really see what they're for, other then friends.

Pippin and Merry

Pippin and Merry seem almost like comic relief to me. Always getting in trouble and doing some silly things. However, had they not joined the fellowship, The ents never would have marched to Isengard.

Samwise Gamgee

Come on Samwise...Don't let Mr. Frodo down! (That pretty much sums him up)

Frodo

What can I say? Next to sam, he's most important. But Frodo never would have made it sans Sam. Nosiree....

[This message has been edited by SuicidalScotsman (edited 10-17-2006 @ 07:59 PM).]

Neo is the best fellowship member, straight after Jesus and Chuck Norris.

Seriously though, Frodo was. Aragorn was really there to protect and restore the power of men, and Gandalf was there to stop the forces of evil, though both Aragorn and Gandalf did some of this through the fellowship, which was the core of it wass Frodo.

Frodo was kind of a superfluous character IMO .... Sam could have taken the Ring himself and dropped it in, unlike Frodo *shoots Frodo a nasty look*. Sam and Gandalf though .. hmmm. Without Gandalf, everything would have fallen apart, because nobody quite seemed to know what to do without him. But I still think Sam was the most important, because without the Ring being destroyed, no one else could have succeeded.

I think Sam was the most improtant part. Almost all of frodo's lines in the last movie were screaming and mumbling.

The hobbits were most important, because without them, no one would be strong enough to take the Ring to Mordor. Plus, other characters (Uruks, Elves, Ents) might have treated the characters differently if they're not hobbits.

Aragorn can't be counted important to the fellowship because his bloodline (heir of Gondor). The point of the fellowship was to destroy the ring and being the heir of Gondor has nothing to do with that.

The most important member, in my opinion, is Gandalf
As has already been mentioned, without him, the ring would never have made it to Rivendell, and the fellowship would never have been formed.

My opinion on all the members:

Gandalf: Very important member - was a guide and protector (the fellowship would not have survived Moria without him), and he was instrumental in discovering Saruman's treachery. He also united Rohan by reviving Theoden, of which only he was capable.

Aragorn: Also very important member - defended the hobbits until they reached Rivendell. Otherwise, not so amazingly important to the quest's success.

Sam: Frodo could not have completed the quest without him. sam gave much of his food and water to Frodo towards the end, and saved him from the orcs in Cirith Ungol, as well as Shelob.

Frodo: Had the endurance to complete the quest - otherwise not that important. I personally think that almost anyone in the fellowship could have completed the quest with all the support he was getting.

Merry, Pippin: Helped rouse the ents to go to war against Saruman.

Gimli, Legolas, Boromir: Purely warriors in the quest.

Don't underestimate the roles of Legolas/Gimli/Boromir. Sure, Gandalf and Sam are the most important characters but how could the fellowship had gotten across the Misty mountains if Legolas had not left to go "search for the sun" or if Gimli had not suggested Moria. They also played important roles in the battle of Helms Deep and during the fighting at Amon Hen.

Boromir and Faramir also were very important characters. If it wasn't for Boromir, then Frodo would have never had the guts to leave the fellowship. If Faramir didn't shelter Frodo and Sam in Ithilien then they would have been caught by Nazgul. And remember, in the long marches through Mordor, it was the food that was given by Faramir that kept them going.

You cannot include Faramir because he was not a member of the fellowship.

Yeah yeah, I was just saying. But ever noticed that Tolkien did not introduce Faramir until long after Boromir had died. Maybe he can be seen as "how Boromir should have been" or "the one who should have went to Rivendell" I think that you can include Faramir as a part of the fellowship in a way.

Although Faramir could be "how Boromir should have been", he shouldn't be included in the Fellowship.

Quote:

Faramir and Boromirs places could not have been switched. If Faramir had gone to Rivendell, Boromir would not have let Frodo and Sam go at Osgiliath.

I believe strongly that Gandalf was the most important member of the fellowship. It was he who found out about the nature of Frodo's ring,getting Frodo started on his quest,and who confronted the balrog,allowing the fellowship to pass through the mines.The fellowship would never have been started were it not for him.

Frodo comes in a close second. Cheers

Gandalf and Sam were both important.

Gandalf owns completely.
Sam is easily in second place.

All the members of the fellowship were integral in completing the ring quest.

One of the most important characters was not in the fellowship; Gollum. Without him, the ring wouldn't have been found or destroyed.

All of the members had a lasting impact on the Quest, even Boromir, whose death moved his father and brother and his people to do what they did .

Gandalf is the mastermind of everything, as Aragorn rightly pronounces at his coronation.

Aragorn is the standard bearer for all of Middle Earth's ancient history- without him, the Fellowship is full of relative newbies and an old wizard.

The Hobbits all affect the outcome in their own way- Merry's loyalty, Pippin's steadfastness, Frodo's humility and Sam's love are all essential to the plot.

Legolas and Gimli heal old wounds and help Men recover from 4000 years of war with the East ,while telling us their sides of the story of Middle Earth.

all are important.

"The most important hobbit on the journey is Frodo Baggins" - at least according to my old college paper on The Company of the Ring. *sigh* I dug it out wondering who I thought was the most important character when I wrote it, only to discover it's sadly lacking in analysis.

Each of the members had their purpose, but really, why didn't Gandalf just ask one of the Eagles to drop the ring into Mt. Doom? He could have, and none of the members would have been necessary at all (except then there wouldn't be a story). I think for me Gandalf wins the title of most important, because he could have accomplished the mission without any of the others (the Eagles, again).

If had sent an eagle he would have been seen and the Nazgul would have killed him (or Orc archers), plus thats a pretty big request. well thats my explanation.

Not the old Eagle thing again!

The Eagles do not follow the bidding of anyone other than Manwe, and Gandalf has to beg Gwaihir twice for help, not ask but beg.

The Eagles have nothing to lose if Sauron wins in Middle Earth- they can fly to Valinor to be with Manwe, and their primary job is to watch things in Middle Earth.

As they are techinically in servitude to the Valar, the Eagles and Ents are not 'Free People' and the Fellowship needed to be made up of strictly Free Peoples

Hmm, possibly contributing to the essential reasoning of rational par-taking, if I may add in as so, is it really necessary to debate over such a matter as they have either already all been resolved in the simple solitude of the books or by those who've labeled the parts in practical sense for general discussion?

If not so for personal reasons, then practically, it should be given out as a main concept besides opposing to the point of rational truth in the discussion (being discussed to place a label on the character's importance when everyone's label is already clear, no offense meant) that a character can only be seen as such by what his actions did to determine outcomes of things should be the proper assocation in first person perspective. In which takes the place of my case, that it only deserves to be for better contribution to the aspect of understanding the main importance and discussion goals of this thread by studying over these base points and their basis. It'll contribute more than starting from an idle discussion without much directional sense to take in whichever way for the discussion. So that's about it, if you can understand this simply enough, I suggest par-takers consider this and then discuss in this current manner on the affairs..

In Sincere Regardance,

Sandro The Wicke

[This message has been edited by Sandro The Wicke (edited 12-01-2006 @ 00:12 AM).]

Well a Fellowship is a group its kinnda a team effort
there are arguments to be found for each character but look at the end of the book...who was left the final pages of the book to fill in as he saw fit?

Sam was the real lord of the ring!